Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Kuwait instead of South Korea, you would:

Health

live 3.8 years less

In South Korea, the average life expectancy is 83 years (80 years for men, 86 years for women) as of 2022. In Kuwait, that number is 79 years (78 years for men, 81 years for women) as of 2022.

be 8.1 times more likely to be obese

In South Korea, 4.7% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Kuwait, that number is 37.9% of people as of 2016.

Economy

be 21.2% less likely to be unemployed

In South Korea, 2.6% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Kuwait, that number is 2.1% as of 2023.

Life

have 2.5 times more children

In South Korea, there are approximately 6.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022. In Kuwait, there are 17.5 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

be 2.6 times more likely to die during infancy

In South Korea, approximately 2.9 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Kuwait, on the other hand, 7.4 children do as of 2022.

Expenditures

spend 25.0% less on healthcare

South Korea spends 8.4% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Kuwait, that number is 6.3% of GDP as of 2020.

spend 40.4% more on education

South Korea spends 4.7% of its total GDP on education as of 2019. Kuwait spends 6.6% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

Geography

see 79.3% less coastline

South Korea has a total of 2,413 km of coastline. In Kuwait, that number is 499 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook.

Kuwait: At a glance

Kuwait is a sovereign country in Middle East, with a total land area of approximately 17,818 sq km. Britain oversaw foreign relations and defense for the ruling Kuwaiti AL-SABAH dynasty from 1899 until independence in 1961. Kuwait was attacked and overrun by Iraq on 2 August 1990. Following several weeks of aerial bombardment, a US-led, UN coalition began a ground assault on 23 February 1991 that liberated Kuwait in four days. Kuwait spent more than $5 billion to repair oil infrastructure damaged during 1990-91. The AL-SABAH family has ruled since returning to power in 1991 and reestablished an elected legislature that in recent years has become increasingly assertive. The country witnessed the historic election in 2009 of four women to its National Assembly. Amid the 2010-11 uprisings and protests across the Arab world, stateless Arabs, known as bidun, staged small protests in February and March 2011 demanding citizenship, jobs, and other benefits available to Kuwaiti nationals. Youth activist groups - supported by opposition legislators - rallied repeatedly in 2011 for the prime minister's dismissal amid allegations of widespread government corruption. Demonstrators forced the prime minister to resign in late 2011. In late 2012, Kuwait witnessed unprecedented protests in response to the Amir's changes to the electoral law by decree reducing the number of votes per person from four to one. The opposition, led by a coalition of Sunni Islamists, tribalists, some liberals, and myriad youth groups, largely boycotted legislative elections in 2012 and 2013 ushering in legislatures more amenable to the government's agenda. Since 2006, the Amir has dissolved the National Assembly on five occasions (the Constitutional Court annulled the Assembly in June 2012 and again in June 2013) and shuffled the cabinet over a dozen times, usually citing political stagnation and gridlock between the legislature and the government.
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